UK Going Programmatic; Video On The Brain

Programmatic ad spend now takes nearly half (45%) of all display ad budgets in the UK, according to a study by the IAB and research consultancy MTM. The data shows programmatic display and video mobile ads doubled from 2013 to 2014, making programmatic advertising in the UK a $1.1 billion business. The increasing role of programmatic in video proves it’s “on advertising’s top table,” said Tim Elkington, chief strategy officer for the IAB. "Consequently, due to the rise in mobile and video ad spend, we estimate around 70 to 80% of all digital spend will be programmatic by 2018." Media Week has more.

Tools Of Engagement

Video is top of mind for American ad agency execs, according to a May poll by Strata. Nearly seven in 10 agency sources said video is their main campaign focus in 2015. However, only 44% of respondents are confident in the ROI of digital video purchases. Targeting video ads based on consumers’ interest is a key draw according the findings, and nearly two-thirds of respondents cited targeted video advertising as the most effective way to capture consumers’ attention. But a separate study by Strata in April says humor, not targeted interests, is the best strategy for racking up video views. eMarketer has more.

Fine TUNE

Mobile attribution player TUNE announced Tuesday that it would consolidate its paid, owned and earned measurement tools into a single hub – a sort of “mission control” for marketers working across different disciplines, said TUNE CEO Peter Hamilton. “Marketers want a unified experience regardless of whether they’re working with TUNE or with someone else,” Hamilton told AdExchanger. The console combines technology that TUNE brought on board through two recent acquisitions – MobileDevHQ and app recommendation startup Appfuel.

Search-enfreude

Former FTC adviser Tim Wu, Harvard’s Michael Luca and the Yelp data science team published an academic paper on Monday that levels harsh accusations against Google’s search result practices. In particular, the authors take aim at Google for displaying its content and products more prominently in results. “By leveraging dominance in search to promote its internal content, Google is leaving consumers with lower quality results and worse matches,” they write. The addition of Wu, who’s written positively about Google in the past, is likely meant to counterbalance Yelp’s apparent partiality. Re/code has more.

(Un)Privacy Policy

RadioShack’s unsurprising bankruptcy this year resulted in a number of interesting legal cases regarding what happens to the firm’s data post-mortem. The New York Times revives those cases with an investigation into the privacy and security policies currently in place. Many companies, including leaders like Google, Amazon, Apple, Facebook and LinkedIn (and, ahem...the Times), have clauses that turn their respective datas ets into an open commodity if there’s “a merger, acquisition, bankruptcy, asset sale or other transaction.” Read on at The NYT.

Tuning In To Automation

Speaking to Radio Ink, OMD's US director of national audio investment, Natalie Swed, says programmatic advertising is helping radio stay relevant in the digital age. As more programmatic solutions flood the broadcast and digital markets, Swed says the industry is gearing up to transition into automation. “I think the timing was critical that it happened now, because people are starting to ask about programmatic in every medium,” she said. “The fact that radio can at least speak about it and say, ‘It's coming, we have a plan, there's a future, this is what's going to happen,’ is very important.” Read the interview.